5 Signs Your Website Needs a Facelift

Does your nonprofit’s website need a facelift? It’s an important question! Having an out-of-date site can quickly turn away donors, especially if they’re young! Here are five signs you should refresh your website:

1. It’s hard to navigate

People browsing the Internet have notoriously short attention spans — most stay on a webpage for only a few seconds before clicking away. Your audience needs to be able to find what they want, and fast! Don’t make them dig around in endless drop-down tabs for your events calendar, for example, or hide your donation page away in some obscure corner of your site. You have a short window of time to get your audience to engage in your website — make it easy for them to find what they want.

2. It’s all text

Text is boring. Text is especially boring when there’s lots and lots of it.  Keep audiences engaged by posting compelling photos that will help build an emotional bond between the viewer and your mission. Add enough text to tell your story well and make a compelling appeal for people to get involved, but keep it short and sweet. Focus on what donors want to know and leave out the excess. They want to know what your mission is, how they can get involved, and concrete facts about what work you’ve done in the past.

3. Your graphics are old

If you’ve got obviously old photos, clip-art graphics, tons of crazy fonts, or weird stock photos, it’s time to refresh your page’s image. Include images that tell your story, are visually appealing (no overexposed or blurry photos!), and complement the information presented on your page. Make sure your text is in an easy-to-read font and color so nobody has to struggle to read what you have to say. Your message is important — make sure people read it!

4. Donating is complicated

Donating on your website should be as simple as humanly possible. Make donate buttons easily visible; don’t hide them away in a menu or sidebar. Don’t make donors click through several pages to get to the donation form. Keep required fields to an absolute minimum; the more fields you have on your form, the more likely it is that donors won’t complete their transaction. The easier it is to donate, the more people will give to your organization. Keep it simple!

5. It’s too overwhelming

Bright patterns, lots of sliding and blinking photos, embedded music, and tons of separate text boxes and widgets can all send even the most dedicated donors into sensory overload. Keep your page simple, focus on quality media rather than quantity, and don’t overwhelm visitors to your page!

Your nonprofit’s website is the core of your online identity and brand. Make sure it looks its best!

Does your website need a facelift? Check out our designer’s design tips for nonprofits.